Kia Provides Electric Vehicles to the University Of California, Irvine

Kia Motors America (KMA) and Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. today announced an expanded partnership with the Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) to help develop and demonstrate Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) advanced smart charging software algorithms. Kia will provide six Soul EVs with the shared goal of creating software algorithms for use in coordinating the charging of plug-in electric vehicles to support grid resource operation.

Vehicle-to-grid defines a system which enables battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) to communicate with the power grid for bi-directional power flow while being grid-connected. This enables the vehicles to serve as energy storage to help manage energy demand.

Demonstration and evaluation of Soul EVs will increase understanding of how BEVs are managed on the electric grid, while identifying challenges and solutions for V2G deployment. Additionally, this test program will help predict BEV and PHEV charging behaviour and further understanding of their impact on the grid.

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